This past weekend, I left my spouse and Corgis behind and ventured down to Charleston, South Carolina, for my first-ever Yallfest. Yallfest is a young adult and middle grade book festival that brings together dozens of authors from all over. I was WAY out of my depth, but I enjoyed just going along for the ride. As my friend, a middle grade author herself, guided me from panel to panel, I couldn’t help but become mesmerized by the scores of people around me. But now that I’m back, it’s time to jump into some nonfiction.
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Bookish Goods
Gallery A: Folded Book Wall Art by Beauregard and West
Since the holiday season is almost upon us, I have been thinking about different bookish gift ideas. I love that books are being turned into art installations in and of themselves. Here is a beautiful example. $50
New Releases
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades by Rebecca Renner
Rebecca Renner reports on the mysterious world of Alligator poaching. Follow officer Jeff Babauta, who goes undercover to discover more about the people who illegally deal in gators.
Eyeliner: A Cultural History by Zahra Hankir
Journalist Zahra Hankir writes about the history of kohl, or eyeliner as we know it today. What might at first seem a simple makeup product actually has an incredible past.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Today, we’re looking at anthologies that were published to give some urgently needed perspective on two very different regions of the world by centering the voices of writers actually from those regions.
Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World edited by Zahra Hankir
Before Eyeliner, Zahra Hankir edited a collection of Arab women journalists reporting from the Arab world. Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, Syria — these journalists report on wars, uprisings, and protests. From their vantage point, they are able to tell stories that male journalists would never have access to in their own work. They center women’s experiences as they write about sexual assault or trying to travel without a male relative. Western society often carries a lot of assumptions about the Middle East. These brave Arab women are here to tell their own stories, risking everything to bring their much-needed perspective of their home regions.
Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy, edited by Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
After the memoir Hillbilly Elegy hit shelves, everyone began crafting their own opinions about the region. J.D. Vance certainly had his. In Appalachian Reckoning, writers from a wide range of backgrounds respond to Vance’s memoir, sharing what they feel he got wrong (or right, in some cases). Meredith McCarroll and Anthony Harkins write about how they wanted to give Appalachian people a platform to respond to the now incredibly famous book that painted all of Appalachia —millions of people across 13 states — with a single brush. But Appalachia, just like the rest of America, is not a monolith.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra